REVIEW: Outbreak Fest, Friday
Flatbush Zombies by Anna Swiechowska
The Chill Start to Outbreak 2024
The Scene attended our first year at the BEC Arena for this year’s Outbreak Festival. Friday had a strong showing for the alt-rap scene that Outbreak has become known for. We had a chance to catch Redveil, Flatbush Zombies, JPEGMAFIA and Action Bronson. As well as the guitar led acts Beach Fossils & The Garden.
Redveil and Beach Fossils
Due to queuing and travel on our part, Mavi's set was unfortunately a casualty. As a result, kicking off the first day of Outbreak 2024 for The Scene was Redveil. Standouts from the set were 'giftbag' & 'black enuff' both off of last year's Playing w/ fire. But by far my personal favourite was latest single 'WHEW LAWD' from this month and even split the crowd for an early in the day pit. The Maryland rapper is by all accounts offensively young, but they had the energy to show for it. Given that they've featured with JPEGMAFIA and 2023's headliner Denzel Curry, this is a name you may long expect to see.
The days' proceedings were unfortunately marred by a two-hour break after Redveil. The Garden had travel issues, meaning their set moved to later on that evening on the third stage. Beach Fossils followed, and brought a distinct vibe to the early hours of the festival. Between hazy orange to crispy blue lighting, Dustin Payseur admits they are "jetlagged as shit". Compared to the cardio and chaos of usual Outbreak proceedings, this set went by without incident. The group have a brief hiccup where Tommy LAUNCHES his guitar to the ground. The band teases throwing a splintered part of it to the crowd as a souvenir and all is well. The group joked that they paid the price of a guitar for the crowd's interaction and it won a quiet crowd over. Other than that, the shoegaze rockers delivered a dreamy set. They also gave shout-outs to fellow New Yorkers, Flatbush Zombies and Action Bronson as they start to wrap up. The final track of the set summoned their lone stage diver of the set, who moved at an equally relaxed pace.
Redveil and Beach Fossils by Nat Wood
Flatbush Zombies
Flatbush Zombies signalled their entrance with a loud, startling “Yo!” over the PA as they brought exceptional energy to the stage. They adhered to the simple show rule: "more energy you give, more energy you get”. It's unfortunate that the Palm Trees Trio weren't scheduled for the main stage on the other two days.
Flatbush were incredibly interactive, the frontmost section was buzzing with bouncing bodies, so much so there was stretches with a complete lack of stage diving. The trio are devoted to having moments with numerous fans. A personal favourite was Meechy asking for a fan he referred to as "Macho Man" to be crowd surfed for all of ‘MRAZ’. Juice and Arc also both did duelling “oooooh yeah” impressions of the late Randy Savage. Obvious mention needs to be made to the group playing the crowd against one another before playing ‘Bath Salt’. They achieved a chorus of the left, right and middle screaming “fuck that side” at eachother. Meechy Darko may have let the energy of the set get the better of him, at one point diving into the crowd during ‘Headstone’. His band mates quipped that he was ‘swimming and lost at sea’ for taking that long to get back to the stage. The New Yorkers ended the set with the iconic ‘Palm Trees’. Between the “Glock Lesnar” lyric, John Cena’s mention in ‘Regular and Complex’ and their Macho Man in the crowd, it sounds like Flatbush is building a wrestling faction for the ages. Meechy says goodbye on behalf of the trio with some insightful words at the end of the set of looking past all the BS. The trio again repeat the shows mantra before leaving, “The more energy you give, the more energy you get”.
Flatbush Zombies by Anna Swiechowska
JPEGMAFIA
JPEGMAFIA's entrance is met with a "Peggy" chant from the crowd. He matched the enthusiasm by introducing himself as "JPEG Motherfuckin' Mafia". The set kicked off with ‘Jesus Forgive Me’, where JPEG’s raw passion and powerful screams cut through the autotune on this track. He kept this energy rolling, going straight into ‘don’t rely on other men’. Moments in this set had the crowd resembling a literal wave, with one person ironically holding up a wet floor sign. Despite a delayed start, JPEG makes up for lost time, powering through ‘Lean Beef Patty’ and ‘BALD’.
There was a heavy emphasis on last years album. But a surprising treat in the set was ‘Garbage Pale Kids’, ‘Stella Pig’ & the eponymous track ‘SCARING THE HOES’ all back to back. The use of the “You think you know me” snippet synonymous with Adam Copeland (FKA Edge) kept the rap/wrestling trope alive, and during the accompanying track the crowd explode. He starts rounding out the set with personal favourite ‘Baby I’m Bleeding’. Despite some technical issues during, he also premieres a new, unnamed track before ending on an incendiary inclusion of Denzel Curry’s ‘Vengeance’. This set solidified his status as a highlight of Outbreak Friday, and made a fair case that he could have acted as headliner.
The Garden
Following JPEGMAFIA, The Garden faced the challenge of maintaining that energy. Outbreak deserve praise for keeping them on the bill in unforeseen circumstances. The front standing area was full up, but JPEG's intensity seemed to have worn out some fans. The Garden's performance unfortunately also came with a rather tinny mix. This wasn’t much of an issue when it came to their punk sound, but didn't mesh well with their bass-heavy tracks. The timing of the slot, and change in venue was both a blessing as fans still got to see The Garden, and a curse. The late slot led some festival-goers to leave early in anticipation of Action Bronson one room over.
The Garden by Anna Swiechowska
Action Bronson: A Theatrical Conclusion to Day One
Action Bronson capped off Friday of Outbreak 2024 by showcasing the magic of live bands in rap. Kicking off with "Dmtri," Bronson's set was quick to established itself as a unique blend of hip-hop and lounge music. His swagger was a staple of what got him the headliner status after JPEG gave him a run for his money an hour earlier. The third song, latest single ‘Sega’, was heavy on its use of keys, which was a big departure from the day's earlier acts. It was hard not to notice a cheeky Kurt Angle reference here as well. It may have just been me, but the unintentional wrestling theme in people’s lyrics felt so on brand for Outbreak.
That theme stayed on during ‘Latin Grammys’ where the crowd enthusiastically chanted "Suplex City Bitch" in unison as the bassline shook the venue. Bronson's set took a whimsical turn towards the middle. In 'Picassos Ear' where the “are you fucking stupid?” was directed at crowd members, one by one. He asked the band to play some salsa, though his thick New York accent made it sound like a blur of either "salsa" or "Southside". Finally, amidst a few microphone issues, one more-than-tipsy fan had to be carted off stage by their arms and legs. Bronson maintained an infectious energy throughout though. The set often felt more like a jam session than a typical headliner performance. At a rough guess, Bronson and co went near ten minutes without an actual song, grooving together as he paced the stage. Bronson spends time taking in moments, saying it's a beautiful evening, as well as catching sight of a fan celebrating their birthday, and wishing them a happy night.
The show rounded out with a spirited rendition of "Actin Crazy," culminating in a drawn-out "Bronson" chant. The "final" number, "Baby Blue," had the whole crowd singing along as the saxophonist and guitarist exchanged the spotlight. Credit to the number of couples in the crowd that were a bit too into the lyrics "why you gotta act like a bitch?". Tough love works. Bronson concluded with a triumphant arm raise as the whole group left the stage. Some fans didn’t get the memo, but the group returned for an encore performance of "Easy Rider." Bronson punctuated the actual final song with a mic drop to cap things off, while the band remained on stage to wail off the final notes. Action Bronson is no ordinary rapper. While JPEGMAFIA before him brought the intensity, Bronson brings the humanity.
Action Bronson by Anna Swiechowska
